As a student in Aix, I kept a paper journal (the Internet was not nearly as hot, and those French keyboards really threw me!). Later, while backpacking through South America, I e-mailed home lengthy, descriptive notes. My friend dubbed them “1940’s Dispatches From Far Away.” And, now, wherever I go, I blog.
Recently, while visiting my grandmother, she produced a folder. She had printed out every electronic communication I had ever sent her. I read through them, laughed, and then immediately went home to find my journal from Aix.
Re-reading your stream-of-consciousness thoughts from “there”? That’s the best souvenir. It’s almost as good as going back.